Tuesday, August 11, 2026
End: Long Forest
Kilometers: 16.3
Total: 103.5
We were the first group on the hilltop to pack up our tent and leave. Not bad for a family with children.
The hike started out high, which meant that we were soon descending. The destination at the bottom of the hill was Merens-les-Vals. We didn’t have anything too special planned , as I didn’t see any store located in this town.
The trail didn’t go down all the way to the main portion of the village, but that was okay with us. We threw some trash away, got some water from the fountain that we hoped was clean, and started climbing.
Pretty soon our climb was interrupted when we came across a few people relaxing in a hot spring. Rocks had been set up to create a few small pools to capture hot water from the spring, and people were soaking it up.
We decided to join in. Wearing a bathing suit as my shorts, I was already prepared. The water was indeed warm, and pretty clean. There was the smell of sulphur, but we weren’t bothered by it. After a while it was time to dry off and leave, but our spirits were higher having enjoyed this unplanned break.
The climb was long, but we knew it would be that way. Even though we started in the morning, the sun was beating down on us soon enough, and we were grateful for the intermittent shade. I kept Daniel going with some chocolate cookies, and by the time we were down to one more cookie remaining, it was melted.
When lunchtime came around, I went ahead to look for a good spot. Perfect timing, as I soon came across the Nabreil waterfall. There were great spots for the kids to play both above and below. We stayed awhile, ate a bit, soaked our feet and enjoyed the cool water. Washing ourselves as much as possible is another important activity.
A good hour spent here kept our spirits up on the long climb. We hiked on, up and up the creek, until it was time to cross it and start hiking an even steeper slope. This was not easy for anyone, but it was particularly difficult for the kids.
Many times, they had to lunge to arrive at the next step, the path leading up the mountain at a steeper angle than before. Vegetation encroached on the trail, showing us that we were on a less-traveled, wilder section. After many breaks, we made it to the beautiful l’Estangas pond.
It was a good spot to take a break and let the kids play, but they weren’t interested in swimming in the cold water. They hung out on the shore, dipping their toes in and skipping rocks. Soon it was time to continue the climb.
We made a last push to the long-awaited Porteille des Bésines. This was the gateway to the next valley. We took some photos and picked up trash left by other hikers.
Alex felt that it was about to rain hard given the garhering clouds. We started descending, and as soon as we got down to the first flat area, the rain started. We scrambled to get the tent set up in a nice spot, and through great teamwork, got the whole thing in place very quickly. Once we were all inside, a ferocious storm began, with plenty of heavy rain and hail.
We waited it out. This was a problem for us, because we were trying to get more distance completed in order to finish the trail the following day. We didn’t have enough food to suffer more setbacks besides our slow speed. I worked on schoolwork with Daniel while we waited out the rain.
After nearly two hours, the rain let up and we got going. We were on a mission to get close to Hospitalet-près-l’Andorre, the next village.
We walked along waterlogged, muddy trail and slippery rocks. Passing many tents surrounding the Refuge Bésines, I was a little surprised by the large number of people in this relatively remote area. Everyone must have come in to escape the rain.
Descending farther, we got down to Lake Bésines, which was partially dried up due to the recent heat wave. Finding an old cabin, Miriam preferred not to sleep there, so we continued on.
Soon afterwards, we found an interesting spot to camp. The French electric company had an old tunnel with a little rail line leading out of it. The rail line was now defunct, a vestige of some construction project.
Our tent set up in the flat area nearby, we dried out a few things and had dinner. It had been a long day, and we would need to hike a lot the next day if we wanted to finish the trail.
